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Graduate students are an important part of education at KU due to their many teaching and mentoring responsibilities.

Graduate students are an important part of education at KU due to their many teaching and mentoring responsibilities.

Graduate students are an important part of education at KU due to their many teaching and mentoring responsibilities.

Graduate students are an important part of education at KU due to their many teaching and mentoring responsibilities.

GTA RESOURCES

GTAs are a vital component of the academic community at KU. This page contains information on CTE’s New GTA Conference, which takes place at the commencement of both the fall and spring semesters, GTA Tutorial Resources, Teaching the ‘Whole Student,’ the Final Fridays Workshop Series, CTE’s Book Club, as well as our Graduate Seminar Modules.

New GTA Conference [Spring 2019]

Graduate Teaching Assistants (GTAs) play an integral role at KU. All new GTAs must complete a mandatory New GTA Orientation offered by the Center for Teaching Excellence or an approved alternative New GTA Orientation offered by their hiring department.

All first-time GTAs must complete all components of the New GTA Orientation during their first semester of teaching. This orientation consists of three components:

About Teaching: The New GTA Conference

New GTAs must attend this all-day, in-person pedagogical conference.

Date: Tuesday the 15th of January 2019

Time: 8:00 am to 3:00 pm -- Attendance at all sessions is mandatory and recorded.

Location: Register at 8:00 am at the northwest entrance of Budig Hall.

Online Tutorial through Blackboard:

All new GTAs will receive information from their departments about how to access the Online Tutorial.

All new GTAs must complete the online tutorial, regardless of where they attend the in-person orientation (CTE Conference or approved departmental orientation).

Questions about access or the content of the questions should be directed to Judy Eddy at jeddy@ku.edu.

New GTAs must achieve a score of 100% on the tutorial no later than the 16th of January.

In-person Follow-Up Session hosted at the Center for Teaching Excellence:

New GTAs must register to attend the session of their choice.

Registration is handled through Blackboard. New GTAs will get more information about how to access the sign-ups during the all-day conference.

New GTAs must register for a session during the first couple of weeks of the semester. Sessions will be held in mid-February and early-March.

Alternative New GTA Orientations

New GTAs in the departments of Communication Studies, French & Italian, English, and Geology complete the online tutorial above but attend an approved alternative, in-person orientation provided by their department instead of the conference and follow-up session offered by the Center for Teaching Excellence. GTAs in all other departments must complete all three requirements described above in addition to any departmental training sessions required by their hiring departments. In either case, students must complete their mandatory training by the end of their second full month of working as GTAs.

Absences

As is indicated in the Memorandum of Agreement between the University, GTAs, and AFT, the orientation requirement cannot be waived. However, in extraordinary circumstances, the Office of Graduate Studies may approve a petition to postpone the required conference attendance by one semester, as long as the GTA's department provides interim training.

If you think you may not be able to attend the session you are assigned to, please notify your department immediately. Failure to complete all components of the mandatory training will make a student ineligible to hold any GTA appointment during that semester or in the future. Department Chairs wishing to submit a petition on behalf of a new GTA should contact Amber Roberts Graham at amberts@ku.edu for more information.

GTA Tutorial Resources

The GTA Tutorial Resources are available to new GTAs prior to their first semester teaching as part of the New GTA Training. The resources link you to information you will need to understand as a Graduate Teaching Assistant (GTA) at the University of Kansas. The resources are organized into four major segments: Privacy and Disability Information, Consenting Relationships and Sexual Harassment, Professional Expectations, and Academic Integrity.

The Privacy and Disability segment of the resources covers handling of student information including the Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act (FERPA) and the privacy, confidentiality & release of student records. This segment also covers student disabilities. The Consenting Relationships and Sexual Harassment segment of the resources covers information related to sexual harassment and consenting relationships. The Professional Expectations segment of the resources addresses anticipated and unanticipated GTA absences, campus emergencies, and evacuation of buildings during exams. Additional topics include warning signs & reactions to workplace violence, as well as the presence of weapons on campus. Also briefly covered under this topic is inclusive teaching practices. The Academic Integrity segment covers cheating, plagiarism, disruptive class behavior & other academic and scholarly misconduct.

Teaching the ‘Whole Student’

The Teaching the ‘Whole Student’ Resources will direct you to resources on campus that might be useful to yourself as you progress through your graduate program or may be helpful for your students. Recognizing ourselves and our students as a ‘whole’ individual with needs and values beyond those that appear in the classroom will help us build a community of committed and connected learners. These resources include counseling & mental health services, career planning, child care & parenting, support for international, LGBTQ, and students of color, and financial assistance.

Final Fridays Workshop Series [Fall 2018]

Final Friday Workshops are lunchtime (read PIZZA) workshops for experienced GTAs who want to discuss different facets of teaching in higher education. All workshops are located at CTE (Budig 135) and will be from noon to 1pm. You must sign-up to attend the workshops as space is limited and we will need to know your dietary restrictions. Contact KColyott@KU.edu with any questions or comments on the Final Friday Workshop Series.

September 28:Navigating Conflicts with Students What should you do if a student in your class makes inappropriate comments during a lecture about a sensitive topic? How do you deal with a student who is constantly disruptive or dominates the class discussion? In this session, led by Kaila Colyott, we will discuss negotiation strategies that you can use to facilitate conflict resolution in the classroom. Register here!This session is limited to 20 participants. Once we reach capacity, we will start a waiting list and you will be notified of future workshops.

October 26:Be an Active Bystander: Gender Based Violence Recognition and Response We have invited the experts from the KU Sexual Assault Prevention and Education Center to discuss Gender Based Violence and how it intersects with your duties as a GTA. Gender Based Violence (GBV) is a broad and overwhelming topic. This foundational training will break down the definition of GBV, the KU Policy relating to sexual harassment, and resource options. Participants will gain a working knowledge of what GBV is and how it intersects with their daily lives and an increased understanding of the systems in place to respond to sexual violence on and off campus. Register here! This session is limited to 20 participants. Once we reach capacity, we will start a waiting list and you will be notified of future workshop opportunities.

November 30:Writing a Teaching Statement Do you need a teaching statement for an upcoming job application or fellowship proposal? This workshop is meant to help GTAs (and others) that are not sure how to approach drafting their teaching statement. We will discuss the general guidelines, work through a few brainstorming activities to get some words on paper, and provide resources for structuring your statement to make it engaging. Register here! This session is limited to 20 participants. Once we reach capacity, we will start a waiting list and you will be notified of future workshop opportunities.

Book Club [Fall 2018]

CTE will host a brown bag book club for experienced GTAs this semester. We will meet 5 times over the semester on Friday from noon -1pm. The meeting dates are as follows; September 7, September 21, October 5, October 19, and November 2. We will provide the books, you bring your lunch and some talking points! We will be reading Small Teaching by James M. Lang. The book is described as employing cognitive theory in the everyday classroom and presents strategies that can be put into practice in a single class period to improve student learning. We ask that you commit to making it all of the sessions as spots are extremely limited. The deadline for application was August 24th and is now closed. The event is limited to 12 participants. Priority will be given to experienced GTAs that have the ability to implement new teaching strategies in the classroom this semester or next. If you apply, we will contact you by August 29th with more details.

Graduate Seminar Modules [Available Spring 2019]

In the past, CTE has hosted a course on ‘Being an Effective College Teacher’ that combined seminar and practicum to guide graduate students in planning, delivering, and evaluating college level instruction. Because the topics of this course are so important to the mission of the Center for Teaching Excellence, we wanted to make the course as widely available as possible. In order to reach this goal, we split the course into modules that can be worked through on their own. You may pick and choose a few modules to create your own course on teaching; using whatever magic mixture of modules that will help you reach your goals. Ideally, you would work through the modules in a group, formally or informally, as many of the materials and activities rely on sharing experiences as teachers and learners, helping each other solve problems.

Teaching revolves around learning. Therefore, a course about teaching must focus on learning about learning. The modules will cover more than learning, but learning will be central, both in terms of how you can help your students and also how teaching itself is really about learning.

Modules available through this course will provide many practical skills to help you prepare, teach, and evaluate your courses. The modules have been prepared to help you prepare good assignments, assess student work, work with difficult students, use class time effectively, and prepare for a teaching career. Some material will allow you to delve into theories, while others will guide you through the practicalities of teaching and learning.

The course is rooted in the Center for Teaching Excellence philosophy of teaching as an intellectual and scholarly activity, and it draws heavily on approaches that have proved effective for learners of all types. Teaching is a privilege, a position of trust and responsibility that we cannot take lightly. It is an opportunity, a vocation that helps shape minds and influence lives. It is also a job that requires much thought and much hard work. This course pays homage to all of those roles and will guide the participants to learn more about teaching, learning, and the interaction between them.

All readings are provided in this Blackboard course except for the chapters out of How Learning Works by Susan Ambrose, Michael Bridges, Michele DiPietro, Marsha Lovett, and Marie Norman (published by Jossey-Bass in 2010). The book organizes research on teaching and learning into seven principles in order to "provide instructors with an understanding of student learning that can help them (a) see why certain teaching approaches are or are not supporting students’ learning, (b) generate or refine teaching approaches and strategies that more effectively foster student learning in specific contexts, and (c) transfer and apply these principles to new courses." - Review from the LessWrong Blog

We highly suggest that students purchase and use this book. It is the best synthesis of learning that we have been able to find and is a great investment for anyone that is interested in teaching and learning. If purchasing the book is not an option, there may be a few copies available at the KU library or a few available for a two-week checkout period from the Center for Teaching Excellence.

Modules include:

What is good teaching?

How do we learn?

How do we motivate students?

How do we design effective courses and assignments?

How do we evaluate student learning?

How do we create an inclusive learning environment?

How do we use class time effectively?

How do we use out-of-class time effectively?

Modules will be available Spring 2019. More details coming soon!

If you have any questions about the modules or would like to request access via Blackboard, email Kaila Colyott at KColyott@KU.edu.

Consultations [Available by Appointment]

Are you looking for help with teaching? Do you have an idea for a workshop that you think would be beneficial to you and other GTAs? Would you like help on writing a teaching philosophy statement but cannot make it to a scheduled workshop? Are you looking for some guidance on dealing with difficult students but missed the workshop? Perhaps you’d just like to chat about teaching in general or get some help looking for ways to develop professionally as an GTA?

Email Kaila Colyott at KColyott@KU.edu to schedule an appointment or with a workshop idea.

GTA Essential Guide to Teaching

This guide offers a range of teaching practices and policies, with the major difference being that this guide is designed for GTAs. At CTE, we understand that graduate students often carry a large responsibility in regard to teaching and assisting professors, and we hope this guide functions as a useful, helpful resource for GTAs at KU.